Sunday, 3 July 2016

The unexpected saves the day. Cuban Brothers at the Hyde Park event - 1 July 2016

If you've ever been to a festival, how often did the headline miserably fail to live up to expectations, only for you to discover a real gem in a tiny tent? For me, that's happened often. But nothing like on Friday night. I have to say that Patti Smith was underwhelming. Sounding good, but there was no moment of magic between her and me. And so my brother-in-law and I nipped over to the Bacardi stage to watch the Cuban Brothers. It sounded interesting, but for quite a while, no one came on stage. There was just sound from a DJ. We nearly left. But we didn't and we lucked out. Onto the stage came a storm of LGBT / Los Angeles Latino insanity which I could hardly believe I was seeing. People doing spinning jumps in sparkly costumes, a man in a big white suit with a boxer's belt and acerbic gags; and another in the gayest hat you've seen this side of the Castro. Before long forty people were dancing, laughing, high-fiving and having a post-Brexit vote commiseration party. It went on for about forty minutes and it made us late for Massive Attack. We didn't care. Even after the Cuban Brothers left the podium, everyone danced out of the little gate that keeps the stage enclosed and we high-fived the security guard. Massive Attack were underwhelming. Sounded good but after what we'd seen, we knew it was time to go home early. Are the best things in life free? I wonder...I think the best things in life are unexpected.